American (Not-So) Psycho Morning Routines
“There’s an idea of Patrick Bateman…” If you’ve read Bret Easton Ellis’ book American Psycho or seen the movie, then you probably remember the intro scene where Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) talks you through his detailed morning routine. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a 2-minute clip (warning: explicit). I was recently reminded of…
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What Good Listeners Do Differently
When I was a young child, we sometimes played a game called “Whisper Down the Lane.” Five or six of us would sit in a row, and the first person would make up something and whisper it into the ear of the next person. The story would then be passed…
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How to Tackle Problems Head On (4 Steps)
We are, all of us, amazing at avoiding things. Our minds are less “thinking machines” than they are “avoiding machines.” And the incredible thing is that we aren’t even usually aware that we’re avoiding thinking about something. I’ll give you a few examples: Right now you’re reading this article but…
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The Dark Side of Mindfulness
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. “You should really try to be LESS mindful. Your clients and co-workers will appreciate it.” I’m guessing you haven’t heard this before because most people will tell you the opposite is true. They’ll say, “You should practice being more mindful, research says this…”…
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Choose Purpose Over Perfection!
Seeking our purpose in this world can be a significant driving factor in our lives. Here are specific steps to help find purpose. Even though understanding our purpose is a goal many aspire to, we live in a time where perfection is highly valued. Have you ever set a goal and…
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7 Rules Everyone Should Follow
Andy and I sat in the restaurant of the Four Seasons in Denver on a sunny Thursday afternoon. He had driven down from Boulder after we had been introduced through a mutual friend. I was impressed. He was a sharp, energetic young man of thirty years old. He had already…
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The One Trait That Elon Musk, Ben Franklin, and Marie Curie Have in Common
“Jack of all trades. Master of none.” The warning against being a generalist has persisted for hundreds of years in dozens of languages. “Equipped with knives all over, yet none is sharp,” warned people in China. In Estonia, it went, “Nine trades, the tenth one — hunger.” Yet, many of the most…
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The Real Reason You Should Work Hard (‘Merica!)
If part of “The American Dream” is to provide your children with a better life than you had, then what happened to millennials? A lot of “experts” say millennials are the first generation to be worse off than their parents. If you look at the average amount of debt for…
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Don’t Use This Email-Productivity Hack
If you want less email, send less email. That was one of the productivity hacks ETR Editor Craig Ballantyne shared during his coaching call Wednesday night. That’s great advice and I recommend you follow it. Another email hack I really like is, limit your emails to no more than five…
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What You Really Get Paid For
As anyone who’s ever started a business can confirm, there are plenty of unknowns when it comes to being an entrepreneur. “Who’s my target customer?” “Should I have employees?” “What kind of website do we need?” “How much should I charge?” And many, many other questions besides. But before you…
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How to Get Back on Track
“Slip slidin’ away, slip slidin’ away, You know the nearer your destination, the more you’re slip slidin’ away” – Paul Simon This happens to all of us in one facet of life or another. We build a habit that starts off strong but then, over time, often ends up slip sliding…
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What’s Your Sunday Look Like?
Growing up in a small city in Canada, I was never really exposed to that many homeless people. Sure, we had a few locals in the downtown busking for change. But nothing like you see in bigger cities. Whenever my parents would take me and my sister to go visit…
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